Only one I've read so far is Darth Plagueis, and I think it remains the best Star Wars book I've ever read. The exploration of the dark side and the dense politics was incredibly intriguing (which was surprising since I despise politics). Seeing Palpatine's rise to power and the connections with Episode 1 was just amazing.

Funnily enough, I read both Catalyst and Tarkin these past three days, and - liked them equally well... I don't think that opening chapter of Tarkin is bad at all - we get the creation of the Tarkin 'image' to the outside world. His formative childhood, how it shapes the man he will become, was also excellently done. And I was engrossed by all the politics and technology. So - I loved it. Catalyst is, perhaps, a more exciting read. All the characters leapt off the page, and as a set-up for Rogue One, it's perfection. All in all, I enjoyed both books enormously and will certainly be reading James Luceno's other books.

James Luceno is Top 5 best SW Authors imo. Stover, Allston, Zahn as well for certain. Maybe Crispin, Keyes or Karpyshyn for 5th. The Unifying Force and Darth Plagueis are my Top 5 Favorite books ever list. Reading the NJO series, it's like you wonder, how can this series end on a high note? Or have a happy decent ending? And Luceno delivered. My parents got me the hardback for Christmas 2003. Finished it a couple days later, and man. That ending still sticks with me more than 18 years later. So many moments I could visualize. Darth Plagueis. I liked the book well enough the first time I read it, really helped improve TPM for me, but listened to the audiobook last year, after listening to the Darth Bane trilogy and man. What a ride. I remember when Darth Plagueis was first announced back in 05/06 and was so excited for it, just to have it be cancelled. Didn't read the first Darth Bane book for a month, because of that, just to fall in love with that book. Labyrinth of Evil. That and the ROTS novel made the hype for the movie that much more real. I was under the weather for one of releases, but wasn't going to miss getting those books. Had to promise my parents, I wasn't going to get sick when we went to Barnes and Noble to get it, but would have been worth it.

great video again my friend lol !!! there is quite a few books that i would like to read there so im happy for your info on them :D

I was a big fan of Dark Lord: the Rise of Darth Vader and it stands at the top of my Star Wars list for favorite books (very close with Outbound Flight - I have yet to read the Thrawn books so I'm sure those will rise above this book when I do). I have always loved Vader and the turmoil of his story arc and I always wanted to see a young Vader film where he's hunting down the Jedi who survived Order 66 (childhood dream haha). I hope Obi-Wan Kenobi delivers my Vader desires, but until then, I was very excited with how this book played out - even though it is a Legends book. I have tried a couple times to read Tarkin but have never made it past the first chapter. Guess I should have kept going! Maybe I will re-add it to my TBR shelf and try again. As a character, Tarkin was always high on my list. Darth Plagueis is a book I have been wanting to read for a long time. I always meant to read it after I finished Dark Lord but I just fell out of Star Wars for a while when I slipped into a reading slump that lasted from 2017-2020. I have always been drawn to the Dark Side and fascinated by the Sith. Darth Plagueis sounds like it will definitely deliver what I seek! Great video and thanks for the review!

Good list. Only read Plagueis and Cloak of Deception and loved both. Planning on reading Labyrinth, Vader and Catalyst soonTM. Really like Lucenos writing.

Great ranking! I just bought catalyst recently and it’s been highly recommended so I’ll have to check it out very soon. So far, my top favorite luceno novel would have to be Darth Plagueis. Started reading that when I was on a plane heading home on my way home from Disney world. Great video!

Как всегда интересный ролик. Мой топ-5 лучших книг Лучено: 1. Дарт Плэгас 2. Тёмный Повелитель: Восход Дарта Вейдера 3. Лабиринт зла 4. Катализатор 5. Под покровом лжи

Love these types of Videos!!! Hope to see Karen Travis on this type of video some time.

Plaguis is my top I'm reading it again 4th time second dark lord rise of Darth Vader

I finished Plagueis today and I have Labyrinth of Evil and Dark Lord: RoDV on my list!

Entertaining video. Any thoughts on how strong Drew Karpyshyn as a Star Wars author? Would love to see maybe an author comparison video (for any authors, not just star wars) or something like that, could be fun.

I don’t like the Disney canon but I read that catalyst book and it’s actually great

I always treated Cloak of Deception as a sequel to Darth Plagueis. It felt like a 'part 2', almost...

I'm reading Tarkin currently and I've liked all the scenes from his past and would've actually preferred that to be the books main focus. I just think the main plot of the book is really boring and feel like the chase over Carrion Spike has lasted way more than it should. Everything with Palpatine and Coruscant has been great though. Looking foward to Catalyst! Great video!

So far I’ve only read Dark Lord and Plagueis, both of which I enjoyed a lot. It’s been several years since I last read Dark Lord though, so that’s on my re-read list at the moment

My Luceno list is not far off: 1. Catalyst 1. Darth Plagueis - not a typo; I kept switching this and Catalyst between 1 and 2 until I gave up and ranked them a tie. 3. Millennium Falcon - my favorite until Plagueis and Catalyst. Hope you get to it soon; I'd enjoy your take on it. 4. Dark Lord - I just really enjoyed this one. Maybe it's my "rose-colored" Luceno. 5. Unifying Force - great NJO ending! 6. Cloak of Deception - I just didn't like it and I've re-read it to be certain; the politics in this one bored me - oddly, my complaints about this book are the same as my praises of Plagueis and Catalyst and maybe that says more about my growth in 20 years than it says about Luceno as an author. 7-8. Agents of Chaos - agreed on your points. I do like (or rather understand) grieving Han and like how those themes were carried into Force Awakens Han and his broken relationship with Ben and Leia. 9. Labyrinth of Evil -agreed on your points; Clone Wars 2D is superior. 10. Tarkin - agreed on your points. Fun to watch and reminisce about Star Wars books - as always. Keep 'em coming!

Damn I loved Tarkin. Aside from loving the character i loved all the flashbacks to gis childhood and past in general. To me it almost felt like some kind of autobiographical work.

Have you ever heard the tragedy of Darth plaejis the wise

Its pronounced with a hard G Like the word Plague. Not Plajueis. Plagueis

Why do you insist that books be fun to get a high score? There are many virtues books can possess besides being fun. I like fun, but not if it leaves out other good qualities.

2:43 just like everything else with Disney 💀🤡